


Tough Love

by SleepyEye



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: Cormoran is a good uncle, F/M, Greg is a jerk, I'm jealous of your legal system, Lucy is getting there, Not britishly accurate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27068044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepyEye/pseuds/SleepyEye
Summary: Cormoran takes Luke for an evening.(So it's come to my attention that bail doesn't actually work this way in London, which is GREAT because bail is shitty and classist and destroys innocent families. That said, it sort of messes up my whole story, and I can't really find a way to change it. So just bear with the inaccuracies. Thanks y'all. I swear I tried to research it.)
Relationships: Cormoran and Luke, Lucy & Cormoran Strike
Comments: 18
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

Cormoran met Lucy at a cafe outside the courthouse, and bought her a croissant that she stuffed into her mouth without tasting it. Luke had been caught trying to leave the Apple Store with a watch in his bag, and had been arrested. Greg hadn’t wanted to post bail. He thought that a night in jail would be just what Luke needed to learn his lesson. 

“I’ve paid his bail,” Lucy said. Cormoran wasn't surprised.

“Does Greg know that?”

Lucy looked down at the sodden tissue clutched in her hands. She and Greg were trying to make it work in marriage counseling, but Cormoran had gathered that it wasn’t going well. Jack had let things slip during their outings, little things that made Cormoran nervous. Greg seemed completely inept. If Lucy wasn’t around, there would be no meals, no laundry, no housework. Greg didn’t seem to notice his children at all, unless he was shouting at them to shut up.

“I haven’t told him,” Lucy said, “It wouldn’t- It wouldn’t be good.” 

Cormoran took a deep breath. He wanted very much to judge his sister. He wished he could think her weak and pathetic. He wished he could say that he’d never stay in a toxic relationship. Instead he stayed quiet, giving silent thanks that he and Charlotte had never started a family together.

“How will he respond when you bring Luke home with you?” he asked.

Lucy flinched in anticipation.

“I was hoping... Maybe... Luke could stay with you?”

Cormoran couldn’t have been more surprised if Lucy had punched him in the gut.

“What?”

“Just for the night.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Please, Stick. If I bring him home Greg will get-- Well, it won’t be good. But I can’t leave my baby in jail, Cormoran, I just can’t. Besides, the bail is already paid.”

“Are you serious? No. No way.”

Fat tears fell onto Lucy’s hands, and she fruitlessly mopped at her eyes with the tissue.

“I don’t know what else to do. He’s my baby, Cormoran. I can’t leave him there. He was just acting out because of the problems at home.”

“He’s been acting out his whole life, Lucy. He needs to face some consequences.”

“There have been problems at home his whole life. It’s not his fault his dad is an arsehole.”

Cormoran’s eyes widened. Lucy never swore, even at the worst of times, and especially not about her husband. Up until this point she had only ever said that they were “both responsible for the problems in the relationship”. Cormoran almost smiled at this new display of anger. It was a start.

“Just for the night,” she pressed, “His hearing is at nine tomorrow.”

Cormoran ran his hands over his face. 

“Listen, Lucy. I’ll do it if you promise me something.”

“Anything, Cormoran.”

“I want you to see this for what it is. This is the end of your marriage.”

“We’re trying--”

“No. No. You don’t have to leave him tonight, or this week, or this month. But you have to look at this moment, right here, and admit to me that it’s the end. You can’t come back from a lie this big. And I understand that you’re scared, alright? And that you have reasons to lie about it. I get that you feel like you can’t tell Greg the truth, for your own safety.”

“He’s not--”

“When you tell a lie this big, Lucy, no matter what your reasoning, the relationship isn’t a relationship anymore.”

Lucy nodded and bit her lip.

“Okay,” she said, her voice wobbly.

“It doesn’t have to be today. But it’s over.”

She sniffed.

“It’s over,” she whispered. Cormoran rested his hand on hers, and she looked up at him with stinging red eyes.

“You’ll take him, then?” she asked.

Cormoran sighed.

“You’re lucky I have the weekend off.”


	2. Chapter 2

Luke sat beside Cormoran in the BMW, glowering out the window. Cormoran thought that his nephew would probably be let off with a fine and a warning. If he was being honest with himself, Cormoran sided more with Greg than with Lucy on the issue of tough love. Luke was a little shit, and Cormoran thought that a night in jail might do him good. Cormoran ground his teeth as they navigated through traffic. How did he let Lucy talk him into this?

“I didn’t take the watch,” Luke said.

“Really. And it just magically appeared in your bag?”

“My friend put it in there. I was framed. I swear. Why won’t anybody believe me?”

“Because we saw the video! The Apple Store has security. For fuck’s sake, Luke, how could you be so stupid?”

Luke set his jaw and stared straight ahead.

“This is going on your record, you know that? Christ, your mother is a wreck. You’re lucky you’re not spending the night there. The only reason you’re coming with me is because your mum paid your bail in secret. Your dad doesn’t know. And honestly, this is one thing I agree with him on. I don’t want to be driving you back to my flat right now. You’ve been given every opportunity, every privilege, and you don’t seem to realize it.” 

Luke gave a truly impressive eye roll that set Cormoran on fire. Cormoran lifted his hands from the wheel and slammed them down again, his eyes shut. Then, with a squeal of tired and car horns, he pulled over to the curb and put on his flashers. He turned to look at Luke, breathing heavily.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Cormoran said, his voice low and shaking. “Your mum paid a lot of money to bail you out. She’s lying to your dad, do you get that? Your dad and I both think that letting you go is some spoiled white boy bullshit, and you deserve to be sweating behind those bars just like all the other criminals. But we’re family, like it or not, and I love your mum. So I’m going to give you a chance. One chance. Give me a reason why I shouldn’t turn this car around right now and take you back there.”

Luke stared back at Cormoran, expressionless as a slab of marble. Then Cormoran saw it. Luke had a mask of cool indifference, but deep below the facade, Cormoran could see a twitch of fear. 

“There’s nothing I can say that will change your mind,” Luke said, “You either take me back or you don’t.”

Cormoran’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Do you honestly think that you’re so powerless?”

Luke’s eyes flickered to the left, so fast Cormoran might have blinked and missed it.

“Either you take me to your flat cause you promised my mum, or you take me back to jail cause you don’t like me. I can’t control you.”

“You think I’d take you to jail because I don’t  _ like you _ ?  _ Liking you _ has nothing to do with it. You were in jail because you stole a fucking Apple Watch.”

Cormoran pinched the bridge of his nose, then sighed. When he spoke, his voice was calm. 

“Did your mum ever tell you about her selective mutism?”

Luke shook his head, surprised by the change in subject.

“Yeah, she didn’t talk to anybody but me and her parents until she was about five.” Cormoran nodded to himself. “Lots of people wondered if she might be developmentally delayed. She would play dumb whenever anybody asked a question. But around my mum and I, and our aunt and uncle, she would talk just fine.

“She wouldn’t walk on her own until she was three. She would walk if we were holding her hand, but as soon as we let go, she would fall down. It wasn’t for balance, or support. She just didn’t trust anybody else. Not even her own legs.

“Around the age of six, she stopped trusting everyone. She started carrying all of her things around in a backpack, everywhere we went. The bathroom, ballet classes, bed. When she showered she would hang the backpack up on a hook with her towel. Because she never knew when everything might be pulled out from under her. She stopped trusting me, even. I would tell her that I’d pick her up from school, and when I’d show up to collect her she would act like I’d given her a surprise party.”

“Is this a lecture on how my mum’s life sucked and I should feel sorry for her? Because I’ve heard all of that.”

“For fuck’s sake, Luke, would you just  _ listen _ for once in your life?”

Luke stuck out his chin and looked out the window.

“What I’m saying is that your mum didn’t trust people. Doesn’t trust people. There’s only two exceptions to that rule. Two people she believes in completely. Do you know who those people are?”

Luke shrugged and rolled his eyes.

“Uncle Ted and you.”

Cormoran snorted.

“Me? I’m flattered, but no. I have not earned that privilege.” He looked Luke square in the eye. “Ted and  _ you _ .”

Luke couldn’t have looked more shocked if Cormoran had slapped him. 

“What?”

“She  _ trusted _ you. She let you come into town because she  _ trusted _ you. She gave you an allowance because she  _ trusted _ you. She lets you do whatever you want whenever you want because she trusts that you want to do the right thing. Your mum gave you the most valuable thing she has, and you shit all over it. Do you understand that?”

Luke just stared ahead, his eyes wide. 

_ Of course he doesn’t understand that. Little shit. _

Cormoran turned the key in the ignition and checked his blind spots. He was about to pull out when he heard a gasp beside him. He turned to see Luke, face in his hands, shaking with sobs. 


	3. Chapter 3

Cormoran pulled up to his building and strode inside, not waiting to see if Luke was following him. Luke had wept the entire way, and Cormoran had driven in silence. 

_ Little shit. _

Still, he didn’t especially enjoy making his nephew cry. 

When he got to the landing outside his flat, he heard Luke open the door of the lobby and start tramping his way up the stairs. Cormoran left his flat door open. He put water on for pasta. Lucy had her whole family on a no-carb diet, but he doubted Luke would mind.

Luke shut the door quietly behind him and stood awkwardly in the center of the room, surveying his surroundings. 

“You’ll be sleeping on the kip bed,” Cormoran said, “As far as your father is concerned, you're spending the night in jail. I told Lucy to tell him, but you know how your mum is. She likes to keep the peace.” Cormoran opened a bagged salad that didn’t seem too dry. Nothing dressing couldn’t cover up. “Probably figures staying with me is just about as bad as jail anyways.” Cormoran looked around the tiny space. “Jail cell is probably bigger.”

They ate in silence. If Luke didn’t care for carbs, he didn’t complain. He ate with the appetite of someone who’d just spent half an hour sobbing. Finally, after a second helping, Luke sat back.

“How do I get it back?” Luke asked. 

“Get what back?”

“Mum’s trust. How do I get her to trust me again?”

Cormoran was surprised at the question. He rubbed at his jaw, thinking. 

“Well, you’ll have to be trustworthy. You’ll have to earn it.”

“How?”

“Well…” Cormoran wished Robin was around. She was better at this sort of thing. "I’m going to ask you some questions and you need to be honest with me. That’s step one.”

Luke shifted in his seat, but nodded.

“Okay.”

“Why’d you do it?” Cormoran asked. 

Luke shrugged and stared down at his empty plate. 

“Come on,” Cormoran said, “I know you get a solid allowance, and your parents will get you what you can’t afford.”

“Everyone does it,” Luke said, “It’s just a thing.”

“Always at the Apple Store?”

“No, other places. Clothes and stuff. Games.”

Cormoran grunted.

“So this isn’t the first time?”

Luke hung his head and didn’t answer. 

“Do you only ever do it with friends? Or do you take things when you’re alone?”

Luke thought about this, drawing lines with his fork on the plat.

“I guess I don’t really do it on my own. Maybe a candy bar or something, if I forget my money.”

“What do your friends say if you don’t steal something? If you say no?”

Luke shrugged again.

“I dunno. Nothing, really. I mean, you know, they call you a pussy and stuff. But it’s not like it’s peer pressure or anything.”

Cormoran wondered if the definition of peer pressure had changed since he’d been in school.

“Do you think stealing is wrong?” Cormoran asked.

“Yeah. If you’re hurting someone. I wouldn’t steal from someone who really needed the money. Like I wouldn’t take someone’s purse.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Steve Jobs doesn’t care about one missing watch.”

“And the security guard at the store?”

“What?” Luke looked genuinely confused, like the thought had never occurred to him. Cormoran realized that it probably hadn’t. Luke had never been taught to notice those people.

“If that security guard hadn’t caught you, he would have lost his job. You think they don’t take inventory? They would see that something got stolen on that security guard’s shift. He would lose his job. And that would be on you.”

“That’s not fair to him. He didn’t steal anything.”

“No.  _ You _ did. It would be on you.” Cormoran let the shock sweep over Luke, then went on. “I know you think that your actions have no consequences, but they do. For good and for bad. You think that you’re powerless, but you’re not. The things you do have the power to change somebody’s life.”

Luke thought this over, his knee bouncing under the table. Cormoran watched him and was suddenly struck by a shocking wave of deja vu. Something in Luke’s posture, his wiry muscles jumping, his coiled rage and fear and shame. Cormoran almost said it out loud.  _ Shanker _ . The thought nearly made him laugh. They were complete opposites in almost every way. Spoiled rich boy from Bromley, starving gangster from Haringey. Both stealing anything not nailed down. Cormoran remembered how Shanker used to lash out, trying to force someone, anyone, to see him. Cormoran wondered if Shanker would steal his leg if given the chance, and thought he probably would. 

“Right,” he said, “let’s clear up.”

Luke took his dishes over to the sink and looked around.

“Where’s your dishwasher?”

“I don’t have one.”

Luke smiled, like Cormoran was joking.

“How do you do your dishes then?”

“By hand.” Cormoran squinted at Luke. “You’ve never hand washed your dishes before?”

“We have a washer.”

“Right. Well.” Cormoran rolled up his sleeves. “This is your first step towards independence. Put a tablespoon of that soap into the basin. Just a bit, there you go. Now we start the water running so it’ll heat up. Now while we wait for it to get hot, we rinse off the dishes, so that we don’t waste the water. See?”

Cormoran showed Luke how to start with the glasses, when the dish water was cleanest and wouldn’t smudge the glass. He showed him how to scrub inside the glass, and take extra care around the rim. Cutlery came next, because it was small and wouldn’t dirty the water. Plates, scrubbed under the surface. All stacked neatly in the drying rack. 

Cormoran remembered when Luke was born. Lucy had been simultaneously terrified and elated, crying almost constantly. Greg had worked late and gone out with friends almost every night. Cormoran remembered trying to hold Luke, terrified that he would get it wrong. Terrified that he would break the baby somehow. He wondered if that was the reason Greg had been so absent. Afraid to hold the baby in case he did some irreversible damage. But it was in not holding him that the damage had been done. 

"I'm done," Luke crowed, "I did all the dishes!"

Luke looked proudly at the clean dishes, and Cormoran wondered if maybe the damage wasn’t irreversible after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on a long case fic right now revolving around Lucy and Greg, so there's more of this to come.


End file.
